The present invention relates to mortising apparatus and particularly to such apparatus adapted for cutting longitudinal mortised slots.
Mortise-and-tenon joints are widely used, particularly in the furniture industry, to provide a reliable mechanical fit between mating parts and a variety of differing apparatus is conventionally employed for the cutting of mortised slots for such joints. Typically, conventional mortising machines are large, self-contained units usable substantially only for boring and cutting mortised holes and slots and, accordingly, such machines represent a relatively large capital investment while providing relative little versatility of use. Representative examples of various types of conventional apparatus of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,574,951; 2,450,181; 2,630,151; 2,644,371; 2,895,516; 4,031,931; and 4,073,324. Of these patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,630,151; 2,644,371; and 4,031,931 are characteristic of the most widely used type of mortising apparatus employed for cutting linear mortised slots, each disclosing a machine employing a unitary motor and cutting bit mounted on a guide track or guide rod arrangement for linear operating reciprocation as a unit.
In contrast, the present invention provides a relatively small mortising apparatus for cutting longitudinal slots having a particular driving arrangement by which its cutting bit may be both rotated and reciprocated operatively by a fixedly mounted drive motor which permits the present apparatus to be adapted in traditional manner in a self-contained mortising machine or to be readily adapted to the stationary drive motors of other types of woodworking or similar machines for portable use as an inexpensive attachment thereto.